This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Justin Trudeau contradicts ‘open nomination’ pledge: Editorial

For the second time, Justin Trudeau violates his “open nomination” promise, imposing restrictions on who can seek a Liberal nomination

Federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau at a meeting of the Vancouver Board of Trade in April, 2014. (Jonatan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Fri., May 9, 2014

Correction - May 12, 2014:
This Editorial was wrong in stating party officials had admitted that Justin Trudeau blocked two-time Liberal candidate Christine Innes from running in Trinity-Spadina because she refused to switch to a new riding when redistribution takes place in 2015. In fact, the party has not admitted to this and denies it is the case. It is Innes, who has launched a lawsuit against the party, who claims that the party retaliated against her for refusing to sign a form agreeing to be told where to seek renomination in 2015.

There were no caveats, exceptions or loopholes when Justin Trudeau promised an “
open nomination
” process a year ago.

In accepting the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, he pledged that every candidate who ran under his banner would be chosen in a free vote by Liberals in his or her riding. Incumbents would not be protected. Star candidates would not be parachuted into winnable ridings. He would not interfere with the selection process.

In speech after speech he repeated those commitments. “Canadians need to see that the Liberal party has understood the lessons of the past and is willing to completely reboot,” Trudeau told the Star’s Susan Delacourt in a
year-end interview
last December.

Since then, the picture has become cloudy.

Article Continued Below

In March he blocked two-time Liberal candidate
Christine Innes
from running in Trinity Spadina, the riding vacated by mayoral candidate Olivia Chow. Initially, he said it was because the behaviour of her campaign team reflected badly on the party. Liberals officials later admitted it was because Innes refused to switch to a
new riding
when redistribution takes effect in 2015.

Innes is now
suing
Trudeau. Toronto city councillor
, who did agree to vacate the riding for star candidate Chrystia Freeland next year, won the Liberal
nomination
last weekend.

This week, the Liberal leader announced a second rule change.

All candidates seeking to represent the Liberal party from now on will have to vote
pro-choice
. (Sitting MPs will not be forced to abide by this new decree.) “The party that we’re building and that we’re committed to build as we form government will be resolutely pro-choice,” he told reporters.

Party officials are already screening would-be candidates to ensure they support same-sex marriage, are prepared to uphold the Charter of Rights and are pro-choice, he said. “We make sure that the people who are stepping forward are consistent with the Liberal party as it exists now.”

This is a troubling shift. Past Liberal leaders, regardless of their personal beliefs, allowed individual MPs to vote according to their consciences on morally fraught issues such as abortion, capital punishment and stem cell research.

There were awkward moments, but the presence of a handful of pro-life MPs in the Liberal caucus did not upset Canadians or confuse them about where the Liberal party stood. In fact, it probably signalled to the public that Liberals were capable of working together despite ethical differences.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper does not tell his MPs how to vote on abortion, although he has made it clear he does not want it discussed in Parliament and will not support legislation on the issue. (Several of his backbenchers have put forward private member’s bills anyway.)

Trudeau’s hard-line stand not only contradicts his open-nomination pledge; it leads to a two-tier caucus with one set of rules for incumbents and a different set for newcomers. That won’t sit well with Liberals committed to equality and freedom of belief.

Because of his comparative youth (he’s 42) and lack of political experience, Trudeau has been given a lot of leeway in the past year to develop his leadership skills. But now it’s time for some clarity. He can either withdraw his twice-broken pledge to stay out of the candidate selection process or explain why his actions don’t match his words.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com